5 More St. Louis Drive-Thru Restaurant Crimes (Drunk Lady at Hardee's Not Included)

Yesterday Gut Check's sister blog Daily RFT reported that a drunk lady passed out in the drive-thru line at a Hardee's just across the Mississippi River in Godfrey, Illinois. The incident began on Saturday, November 24, at 9:57 p.m. when the Madison County Sheriff's Office was called to respond to a female driver asleep at the steering wheel in the drive-thru lane of Hardee's (2720 Godfrey Road). After waking the woman in question, Janice Lyles, officers administered a series of field sobriety tests, which she failed. Police then placed her under arrest for driving under the influence and operating an uninsured motor vehicle, both misdemeanor offenses.

That got us thinking: How many other drive-thru window crimes have St. Louisians committed? We rounded up a list of five offenses that range from the plain bizarre to bloody.

Man Stabbed in Del Taco Drive-Thru
In January 2011, two men were in the drive-thru of the former Del Taco on South Grand just after midnight when they got into an argument. The 31-year-old victim told police that his friend pulled a knife and stabbed him. The victim arrived at an area hospital in stable condition. The suspect, 40, was arrested at the scene.

Woman Jumps from Roof After Robbing White Castle
In August 2011, a 33-year-old woman drove through the drive-thru at the White Castle at Hebert and North Florissant around 2:52 a.m. Once there she brandished a gun and handed the cashier a note stating she was robbing the Whiteys. Employees locked themselves into an office and called police, during which time the woman climbed into the drive-thru window and stole cash from the register. Along the way she also dropped her gun, which was actually a plastic toy. With a description of the suspect's vehicle police located the car a half-mile away in the rear of the suspect's home in the 1900 block of Warren. When police tried to arrest the suspect, she climbed to the roof of the three-story home and jumped off the roof. The woman was taken to the hospital. Her injuries weren't believed to be life-threatening.

Man Throws Dead Squirrel Through Hardee's Window, Orders 'Extra Nuts'
This one isn't exactly local either, but really, it's too good to leave out -- and it also involves an oddball Hardee's customers.

In December 2010, Christopher Thompson, 26, of Pekin, Illinois, found a squirrel carcass on the dashboard of his car -- a joke played on Thompson by a friend. Instead of disposing of the dead animal he chose to leave it on the dashboard. According to Bartonville, Illinois police, Thompson entered the drive-thru lane of a Hardee's at 9:45 p.m., placed an order and upon arriving at the pick-up window, asked for "extra nuts for my pet squirrel."

"That squirrel's not real," the restaurant employee said, according to the police report.

"Yes, it is!" he bit back, before chucking the squirrel through the window. It skidded over the counter and landed on the floor; a customer at the restaurant picked it up and dropped it in the snow outside.

Thompson drove away after launching the carcass through the Hardee's drive-thru window. Police found him several days later and served him notice to appear in court on misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges.